My father must have taken him to them before showing him the way out. It’s not fair.
“No,” I scream. “If you hurt any of them...”
“You’ll what?” he asks.
I freeze and bend my head, panting, feeling so fucking hopeless. He’s right – there’s nothing I can do.
He flicks a glob of puke off his boots, and it lands onto my chin. “That’s what I thought,” he grunts.
I can’t help but think this is the end. Can’t help but reflect on the enjoyable times I had exploring that weird world with Kalxor.
I was scared. There were demons I hadn’t yet faced.
I fell in love…
But now, all of that means nothing. Again.
I can’t catch a break.
Everything speeds up as another row of ground troops storm through the building, voices barking like it’s world war fucking three. Well, to me, it is. To me, my love is under attack. And if I get my way, this entire enterprise is going down.
I see Kalxor, my handsome alien cyborg beast, the alpha who completes my heart. We have been forced apart, separated by the hands of the Federation.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was possible, but here I am, dealing with the reality.
When I react, they kick me down. Kalxor roars, muscles solidifying, scales ruffling out in fear.
Elon is behind him, face full of despair. He didn’t want this to happen. The torn parchment Kalxor found in the basement of that cabin makes all the sense in the world now.
He never wanted the project to continue because he knew what the Federation bastards would do. They do what they always do. They take. They hurt. And they twist the narrative until they look like heroes.
They are the machines.
“Kalxor, just do what they say,” I mutter, tears falling from my eyes.
And then they bring out his family. They torture him with the sight of those beautiful aliens who appear more docile than any human I have ever met.
I have to admit, the sight of them surprises me, as well. It spurs something inside me, makes my robotic heart swell with empathy and compassion. For a quick second, I dream of what could be. I dream of connecting as a family, together, as one.
I dream of marriage.
Of kids.
Of growing old together. Goals I’m not technically supposed to achieve. But I need them now, need them like water in the driest desert.
I look up at Kalxor, tears salty on my lips, snot running down my nose. I know how I look. Broken and abused. Not exactly a ten. But the way he looks at me is beautiful. He loves me and will always love me throughout time.
I’m lucky to have loved him.
This time, there are no apologies. There are no goodbyes. There is only the present.
Eye to eye. Heart to heart. Soul to soul.
I feel the soldier’s barrel press against the back of my head. They can kill us, but they can’t take away what we had.
No one can.
I hear a voice echo from each of their radio units. “Smoke him.”
“Light ‘em the fuck up!” one yells.
“No!” I scream.
Unable to look, I shut my eyes and grit my teeth, saliva dripping from my mouth onto the concrete floor. Dry-heaving, I cry, and I let it all out. I never knew I could feel so much.
There are many sounds that follow. The clicking of metal. The bell-like ping of bullets entering cartridges. Those hollow boots, rushing against the icy floor, running to catch and kill my alien.
His hands are in the air. He’s not a threat to them. They could just let us go, let us love freely, but that’s not what they’re programmed to do.
And then I hear gunshots. I hear screams. I try not to listen, but I hear Kalxor’s emotional bellow.
“Ava!”
“Kalxor!”
I open my eyes, and everyone stops. The officer in charge drops his magazine and racks the slide to clear a jam in the rifle, but the spent case does not clear.
Oddly enough, the other soldiers are having the same problem.
Kalxor rises, unscathed. When he stands, he’s a tall, hunk of meat, a fucking tank of rage.
The line of officers inches back. “What the...”
“Yes,” I whisper, smile cutting against my face.
“Fall back,” the officer says.
Kalxor keeps walking, forcing them on their heels. His chest rises and falls, growing bigger with each inhale.
One soldier looks at another, eyes narrow and worried. “What’s happening?” he asks. “Why won’t our weapons work?”
Kalxor smiles, baring his teeth. They have brought him back to his origin, a savage predator looking for his mate. Fighting the hunters to get the woman he loves.
“I was designed to do two things. Number one. Fuck. Number two. Kill anything that stands in my way,” he growls. “I’ll let you choose the option you see fit.”
The officer yanks on his radio comms device, hands shaking. “Ground to Earth Federation. We need backup,” he says.
But the radio isn’t responsive. There is a peculiar frequency running through it, and it sounds like a thousand voices speaking at once.
“We need backup,” he says again, more frantic and wild this time. “Please!”
“Your pity party is over,” Kalxor grunts. “And now, all of you are going to die.”
Defeated, the man falls to his knees, shivering, and crying.
And then he wets himself.
“Please,” he begs. “I, I, I’ll leave the force. I’ll make a better life. I’ll do better.”
He waves his hand, and their rifles bend upward, barrels facing their own skulls. “You are incapable of doing better,” Kalxor roars.
Again, the officer hits his radio, begging anyone, anything for help. And this time, there’s a response.
“Ava?” The voice asks. “Are you there?”
It’s muffled, and the frequencies dart in and out, but I can hear him. It’s my father, Gerard Lancaster. He’s still alive!
“Dad,” I whisper. “Is it… really you?”
The frequency shifts back and forth, many voices speaking, until it solidifies into one unified voice.
“Ava. I’m here,” he says. “Don’t worry.”
“What’s going on, daddy?” I ask. “I know you. You must have planned this. How does this all end?”
I hear his soft chuckle, and I immediately picture him winking. I miss him more than anything in the world. He wasn’t a terrible guy. He just knew what had to be done.
“You want to know how this ends?” he asks. “With a sunset. A kiss. And two souls coming together as one.”
I suck in my lower lip and weep with joy. “Daddy...”
“But first,” he continues, “it’s time for some fireworks.”
The soldiers gather like a scared pack of wolves. They all fall to the floor, and I scurry away, running into Kalxor’s chest.
My dad continues to speak. “Three…”
“Don’t do it,” the officer says.
“Sir,” another soldier coughs. “Sir, where is back up?”
My father chuckles. “Two…”
“If you do this, the entire Federation will take you down. They’ll kill your entire family for this,” the officer bellows.
The countdown does not end until it ends.
“One...”
Boom.
The entire place illuminates with a brilliant white light. Powerful sparks and mini explosions light up the room. All at once, the soldiers fall, dead.
It happens so fast it almost doesn’t register. But when the last of the shell casings stop rolling across the ground, I know it’s over.
Everything starts to spin. Reality warps and bends until I lose my footing and collapse into Kalxor’s body. A flurry of emotions shoot out from my stomach like a million fireflies.
I still can’t believe it. Any of it.
I can’t believe we won.
Leaning into h
is arms, I open my eyes and exhale, giving myself to him emotionally, allowing myself to be absolutely vulnerable and out of control. The truth is, I don’t know if this is over. There could be an entire fucking army waiting for us outside, but even if there was, it wouldn’t mean a thing.
My father taught me what it means to be an actual human. And that’s enough power to fight ten armies.
That’s the power of love.
The lights flicker on. The smoke clears. I can see this place for what it actually is. Just another building. There will be plenty of doors waiting for us to open, but the only one I want to see is the door to my home.
I want him in my bed. I deserve that much.
Kalxor stares at me with obsessive eyes, eyebrows creased with longing. “I’ve never wanted to kiss you so bad in my life,” he says.
I curl my hand around the back of his strong, muscular neck. “Why waste time? Kiss me, cyborg.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
I inhale and inch open my lips, tongue ready for him. And when our lips finally meet, we taste each other like it’s the last day we’ll ever have. Because it damn sure could be, and it would be a shame if we ever lost each other again.
Now that would be a nightmare.
Sliding my tongue back, I swallow and bite my lower lip, reopening my eyes to see his handsome, alpha face. “We did it,” I whisper.
“I thought I lost you,” he says, eyes moist. “I took you for dead.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster, Kalxor. But I don’t regret any of it. Even the dark parts. All of it feels like a dream to me,” I say.
He nudges his thigh underneath my ass and hoists my body into his arms. “That dream’s not over yet, my love,” he says.
I nearly squeal with joy, but my father’s harsh frequencies interrupt again.
“You’re forgetting the best part,” he says.
“What could be better than this?” I ask.
“I’ve wiped out Earth Federation’s databases. All their records. All their progress. Finished,” he says. “You are the keepers of this machine, and I will make sure no one ever affects your love again.”
Kalxor sets me onto my feet and bows, taking a knee. “Sir, how can we repay you?”
“Don’t,” he says. “All I wanted was to fix this world. The old rulers made it impossible to live. I just wanted to give my daughter everything she deserved. Everything I couldn’t give to her before. My work is done. Now, I serve this planet.”
I try not to cry any more than I already have.
“You mean you won’t leave us?” I ask.
“Not entirely. I might not be here tomorrow or the next day. But when I’m with you, you’ll know,” Gerard says. “The entire family will know.”
I turn and see Kalxor’s family, proudly standing like noble statues, kept alive by memory and coded numbers turned into reality. Kalxor meets them, holds them, and laughs with them.
And when they part, Elon walks through their wake. “My task is to keep your father running,” he says. “Gerard, the giver.”
“Not creator,” Gerard says.
Elon smirks. “No, not creator,” he says. “A man who convinced me to kneel when everyone stood.”
“Earth Federation will strike back,” my father says. “They always do. But this time, we’re stronger.”
This time, love wins.
16
Ava
Three Weeks Later…
What does good feel like?
It’s a question I’ve been wondering for a long time now. And it’s one I think I’m finally willing to answer.
Good feels like walking into a brand new home with an alien I love. Good feels like getting to know his family over a warm cup of coffee. It’s waking up knowing all of this is real.
Forever, real.
No one knows what we went through together on the inside. It’s not on the News. It’s not on the holo-tweets, or the roll of live-feeds displayed on the high-rise condominiums. It’s certainly not painted on the street corners outside.
This time, Earth Federation took a loss. They’d rather keep their filthy mouth shuts than tell the entire world about it.
We had to do a little op-sec work to keep things under wraps. I had a fingerprint change and pupil swap, a firmware update, and a wetware upgrade to give me more agility and grace. You know, just in case anyone wants to sneak up on my family. Now I come pre-installed with an all-knowing software. A software my father designed.
Come and fight me. I dare you.
Elon didn’t stick around too long. Knowing every military base in the world was after him, he took his cash and went off the grid to build a smaller but better life. A life without the complications of mass production.
“I’m done with toys,” he said. “There’s a lot I never discovered. I want what you have. I want a family.”
None of us could blame him, so we wished him a big farewell. The next day, I woke up with a box of money on my doorstep and a bill of ownership to a compound just outside of Ohio.
Suddenly, we had an entire enterprise at our disposal.
So what does good feel like? It feels a little like every day.
Eye clamps hold my lids open as I steadily guide an old screwdriver against the crossed-ridges of a small bolt. Carefully, I turn and pull back, examining the motion of the hinge I just installed. It’s one of one hundred thousand.
There are many more to go.
I exhale and roll my tongue over the edge of my bottom lip. My creation is still far from being complete. Maybe in a year or two. Maybe in ten.
Lucky for me, time does not dictate our reality. All we need are minor adjustments now and then. Technically, we can live forever.
The darkness of my workspace would be complete if the light of my hologram disc didn’t infiltrate the room. Once I make another minor change, I hear footsteps coming my way. The workspace door opens, and Kalxor peeks his head inside.
I quickly remove the painful eye clamps and swivel my chair back, wiping a few beads of sweat from my forehead.
“Sorry to disturb you, baby,” Kalxor says.
I take a gander at the time. It’s nearing five in the morning. “Thank God you interrupted me. I should have finished hours ago,” I say. “Sometimes I just get so caught up, I forget to check the clock.”
He chuckles softly and enters the room, gawking at the project I’ve put so many hours into. “She really looks great, though,” he says. “A lot like you.”
I laugh, a bit bashful. A lot emotional. “It’s funny, I thought she looked a little like you,” I say.
He twists his lips. “The blue skin, maybe. But her nose is all you.”
I stare at her, Elena. Our daughter. Someday, she’s going to make us both very happy.
He’s right. Her nose is just like mine. Actually, it’s a little like my dad’s nose.
He rubs my shoulders, rhythmically digging into simulated muscle tissue and the very real knots that have formed inside them. I’ll have to get those fixed sometime soon, but he’s really working wonders on them.
“How about we head to the bedroom,” he says.
I yawn and lean into his fingers for some last-second pleasure. “Sounds good. I don’t feel too tired, but I know I’ll feel it in the morning if I stay up. I should probably get some sleep,” I say.
He kisses the top of my head. Then near my ear.
Then I feel his tongue slide around the lobe, dragging down and around the curve of my neck. Goosebumps form across my skin, and a shiver causes my arms to push up and out.
“You know, you could always just hack your exhaustion away,” he says.
I bite my lower lip and glance at him through my peripheral. His hands move over my shoulders, fingers trickling around my breasts.
“On second thought, I could probably stay up an extra hour or two,” I moan and chuckle.
“Or three,” he says.
My smile extends across my face, and I nod. Slowly, he rolls
up the bottom of my shirt, dragging it over my head, exposing me to the frigid air under the vents.
Walking to my front, he leans over and kisses, snaking his tongue into my mouth, enjoying me for the hundredth time this week.
Somehow, our journey still feels like yesterday. I don’t think that’ll ever change. And if it does, I’ll write over that bit of code.
Easy as pie.
“Your tongue tastes good,” he says. “Sweet, like sugar.”
“Be careful. You might overdo it,” I say.
He smirks. “How about we add some cock to the flavor?”
I can’t say no to something so hot. Kalxor has always been willing to play dirty, but lately, he’s been diving in deeper and deeper.
I have to admit, it’s really fucking sexy.
I pout my lips, playing the role of pretty, dumb, and begging for cum. “Yeah? You want to give me that hard cock, baby?”
He growls, sinking his mouth over one breast, tongue circling the nipple, sucking me, teasing me.
“I need to fill you,” he says.
The wonderful thing about robots is we can last all night.
I latch three fingers underneath his belt, pulling him closer, forcing him to straddle me over the chair. Fumbling the leather out of each loop, I get to his silver belt buckle, a round image of a snake.
I gaze up at him, mouth dropping, surprised as I always am with him. The zipper comes down, the button clicks through the denim, and my hand brings his cock out of its natural habitat.
It’s wild, almost violent in size and girth. As soon as I start to stroke, a teaspoon of pre-cum drips down his shaft, falling onto the tip of my tongue. I curl it inside my mouth, savoring the salt for potential famine, and that’s when I know I can’t wait any longer.
I take him in my mouth, a bit easier now than it was back when we first met, but still no easy feat. His girth widens my mouth, tightens my lips, and when he thrusts, my salivary glands go wild.
Gagging, I hold myself over him. All of him. And I don’t allow him to leave either. For the time in a while, my throat is his home, and isn’t that what good feels like?
Alien Beast: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 15
